Ill
by Falcon Strife
Summary: -Oneshot- In which Manta learns not to trust Yoh, Yoh learns to not protect Manta, and Faust learns the importance of medical background checks. Sometimes the cure is worse than the illness.


**Title**: Ill  
**Rating**: K+  
**Genre**: General/Humor  
**Summary**: In which Manta learns not to trust Yoh, Yoh learns to not protect Manta, and Faust learns the importance of medical background checks. Sometimes the cure is worse than the illness.  
**Disclaimer**: Shaman King and its affiliated characters are © Hiroyuki Takei. I have not, am not, and will not make money off of this entertainment-only fan-written story.

* * *

"Yoh-kun!"

Yoh and his friends looked up when they heard Manta shriek.

"What the devil was that?" Horo asked with a frown.

Ren smirked after taking a long drink of milk. "Faust," he replied.

"Oh," Horo replied, suddenly losing interest in the topic. "Why don't we go out for lunch today?"

Yoh smiled nervously at Horo's sudden change of topic, and then looked down when he felt a small body move swiftly behind him and grasp his pant leg desperately. "What's wrong, Manta?" he asked with a smile.

Manta replied only with incoherent whimpers.

"Speak up, Short Stuff," Ren said while tapping the milk carton with his index finger.

Manta groaned unhappily, and then looked up quickly. "Faust is after me again!" he cried.

"Now when you say 'after you,'" Horo began, "do you mean he's trying to cut you open, or he's trying to spend time with you?"

Manta gave the Ainu a pouty look before looking at the ground. "He's trying to be a doctor." With a moan he laid his head against the back of Yoh's leg. "Don't let him get me," he said pitifully.

"Manta, where are you?" Faust called from somewhere in the onsen.

Yoh frowned worriedly. "That's his doctor voice," he said with a shiver.

"Yep," Ren replied, and then looked at Manta. "Why is he after you?"

Manta glanced away uncomfortably for a moment. "I've got a bit of a head cold and he wants to treat it."

Horo gasped. He too had fallen victim to Faust's care the last time he had a cold, and he knew that there was no worse torture one could endure than that of Faust. "You poor thing! Guys, we gotta get him somewhere safe," he cried while looking to his fellow shamans.

"You know, the sooner you face Faust, the sooner the nightmare ends," Ren said emotionlessly.

"Nuh, uh," Manta replied while shaking his head. "He'll make it worse! Doctors always make it worse!"

Yoh frowned. "Manta, you think Faust will hurt you?"

Manta flinched at the question, and then looked up. "No… but doctors just seem to make me worse. The doctor said I wouldn't get sick if I had a flu shot, but I ended up sick all winter. Another one wanted my mom to have back surgery, but a month of chiropractic care and she was completely fine."

"Chiropractors are doctors," Ren stated matter-of-factly.

"But not physicians," Manta argued, and then swayed before rubbing his face into Yoh's hip. "I'm just fine. I don't need a doctor," he muttered.

"My parents never took me to a doctor when I was sick," Horo reasoned with a frown. "I'm just fine. Let's just hide Manta until he's all better. It's just a cold."

Yoh sighed while looking at Manta, and then smiled faintly. "Manta, are you sure you're okay? You look pretty dizzy."

"It's because it's a head cold," he muttered. "I'll be fine in a couple of days."

"There you are," Faust said cheerfully while peeking into the room. "Manta, silly boy. That ear infection must be affecting your hearing. "I said you couldn't go yet."

Manta laughed nervously. "Ah… I'm quite certain you said I could go, Faust," he said nervously. "I feel just fine now."

Faust tilted his head curiously. "No, I'm certain you should treat it. You're leaning to one side."

"Am n-ah!" He cried out as he lost his balance and fell sideways.

"Hey," Yoh cried with an embarrassed blush as his pants began to pull down under Manta's weight, and then grasped the waist band tightly and pouted and Ren and Horo started snickering.

"Did Ryu mix your boxers with Anna's scarf or something?" Horo asked with a grin.

"Mph. Pink looks good on you, Asakura," Ren said smugly.

"Th-They were the only clean ones!" Yoh cried defensively.

"No!" Manta shrieked while rushing behind Ren, and then grasped the shaman's hand and tugged urgently. "Ren, help!"

"Manta, I'm only going to give you a couple drops of Polysporin," Faust said confusedly. "Ear drops."

"No, no, no! I don't need them!" Manta cried defiantly.

"Young man, I'm the doctor, and I think I can tell when ear drops are necessary," Faust said sternly. "If you don't treat it, your eardrum will rupture and your ear will bleed. You could lose your hearing, and possibly worse."

"Oh, no," Yoh said with watery eyes, suddenly seeming very sensitive. "Manta, that's terrible! You need to be healed!"

Ren frowned as Yoh lunged towards them. "Hey! Back off!" He grunted when he was knocked over, and then looked up angrily and found Manta struggling and shouting, trying to escape Yoh, who was taking him to Faust.

"Yoh, he's your best friend," Horo cried.

"He has the right to refuse medical treatment, Yoh," Ren snapped.

"But he'll get sicker," Yoh said while looking back with a sad puppy expression.

"Hold his head to the side Yoh-kun," Faust said cheerfully, and then placed a small bottle over Manta's ear when he did so. He let out a disappointed sigh when Manta let out a shrill cry, and then placed his finger lightly over the small entrance to keep the medicine from dribbling away from the infection. "Manta, you're a big boy. You should know better than to act like that. It doesn't even hurt."

"Says you!" Manta cried as tears started to form. "You're not the one feeling it!"

"Nonsense," Faust replied with a laugh. "When I was young I had a number of incidents that required drops. It doesn't hurt at all."

Ren frowned irritably. "Faust, Yoh, you two are supposed to know more about Manta's health than anybody else, right?"

"Of course," Faust said with a smile.

"I know lots of stuff about Manta," Yoh said happily while snuggling the blonde like a teddy bear. "He's my best friend."

Ren quirked an eyebrow. "Then why am I the only one who knows he has sensitive ears and isn't supposed to use drops?"

Faust blinked curiously. "Excuse me?"

"Last winter he had the same thing," Ren snapped. "The doctor specifically said not to use drops or it could further complications."

Yoh and Faust blinked with a sheepish expression, and then looked to Manta curiously and asked, "Really?"

Manta whimpered. His ear was now aching, his sinuses felt like they were going to explode, and he was growing dizzier by the second.

Ren rolled his eyes. "He's going to be in bed for a couple of days, now."

As if on cue Anna entered the room and glared at Yoh and Faust. "With Ryu away in Izumo and Manta bedridden, you two should know who's in charge of chores and cooking. Get to work."

Faust and Yoh looked at each other with startled expressions as Ren and Horo began snickering.


End file.
